Chapter 7 #2
They continued like that for some time, the rules shifting as quickly as they were made, neither of them attempting to keep it the same for long.
Lily spoke more easily, without pausing to consider and without watching for approval.
She reached for Eleanor’s hand again without thinking and did not let go.
By the time they slowed, the laughter had begun to hurt Eleanor's cheeks.
It was Lily who noticed him first. She stopped abruptly, her attention shifting past Eleanor’s shoulder.
Eleanor turned to see that Julian stood a short distance away, just beyond the edge of the path, as though he had not intended to interrupt. He had likely been there for longer than either of them had realized, given how distracted they had become.
He was looking at them in surprise.
His gaze moved between them, taking in the small details without comment. It was clearly not what he had expected. Lily tightened her grip on Eleanor’s hand slightly, then lifted her chin.
"We are busy, Brother" she said.
Julian’s attention settled on her. He was not angry that she had said it. If anything, he seemed to rather like it. Eleanor wondered if he was simply relieved that he was not alone in Lily's care anymore.
"I can see that," he replied.
"We are confusing the flowers," she explained. "Eleanor said that we need to protect ourselves."
"That seems… very productive."
"It is," Lily said firmly.
Julian’s gaze shifted briefly to Eleanor. She met it without hesitation. There was no explanation offered, for there was none required. The moment stood as it was.
Lily did not stay still for long. Whatever interest Julian’s presence held for her lasted only a moment before something else caught her attention further along the path.
"I have to go and see if the queen is still standing," she said suddenly, releasing Eleanor’s hand without ceremony.
"An urgent matter," Eleanor explained to Julian.
"Very," Lily added, already moving away. "Do not let the spy listen."
"I will do my best."
That seemed sufficient. She ran off without hesitation, her focus already elsewhere, the game continuing in her absence.
Julian remained where he was for a moment, watching his sister disappear around the turn in the path. Then his attention returned to Eleanor.
"How," he asked at last, "did you persuade her to do that?"
Eleanor looked at him, faintly puzzled.
"Do what?"
He glanced in the direction Lily had gone, then back again.
"To be so at ease. She has not been that way in a long time."
Eleanor’s expression did not change, though there was a brief moment where she considered the question more carefully. Lily's demeanor was so plainly noticeable that she had never once thought that she could be any other way.
"I did not persuade her to do anything," she said.
Julian regarded her steadily.
"You must have done something."
"I spoke to her," Eleanor replied. "And I listened when she answered."
"That is all?"
"Yes. She did not want anything more than that."
He seemed to weigh that, as though he had been expecting something more from her. Perhaps he had been, and that she had somehow done something that he found impossible, but she did not think that was possible. There had been no fear in the girl, nor any apprehension at all.
"That is not usually enough for her," he said.
"It appears to have been this time. Perhaps she is merely excited to have a sister."
Another pause followed. Julian’s gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, thoughtful now rather than surprised, though the earlier note of it had not entirely disappeared. She did not want him to think that she had appeared and was suddenly replacing him.
"Perhaps," he said.
The word did not carry any conviction. Eleanor watched him and waited for him to continue, to explain what he had expected instead, or what he believed she had achieved.
He did not. Instead, he shifted slightly, his tone returning to something more neutral.
"The staff have been introduced to you, I hear," he said. "You should not encounter any difficulty now."
"No," she replied. "I do not expect to."
"The household is well established. It will not require any significant adjustment from you."
"I have been told as much, yes."
Julian inclined his head slightly, as though confirming that the matter was settled. The conversation had moved on deliberately, and Eleanor did not endeavor to return to the other matter.
For a moment, she remained where she was, her attention no longer on the house, nor the staff, nor anything he had just said.
His question as to how she had persuaded Lily to engage with her as she had lingered, not because of the wording, but because it suggested that something had been done, that Lily’s ease required explanation, or intervention.
Eleanor glanced in the direction Lily had gone, where the sound of movement could still be heard faintly through the garden.
It had not felt like persuasion. It had not felt like effort at all.
She turned back to Julian, though he had already moved on from it, his attention directed elsewhere, the moment closed as neatly as he closed everything else.
Eleanor said nothing, but the question remained.